


Snow Black and White Steel

by MollyRenata



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Bonding, F/F, Fluff, Many creative liberties taken, Pre-Relationship, Rarepair, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:15:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26662795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MollyRenata/pseuds/MollyRenata
Summary: A bird in a cage, a maiden in a maze... are they really that different?
Relationships: Amagi Yukiko/Labrys
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Snow Black and White Steel

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is, a more wholesome Yukiko/Labrys fic. If I get more ideas for this ship, I *will* put them down - gotta spread the love, right?

* * *

Labrys didn't understand why Mitsuru had her stay at the Amagi Inn every time she visited Inaba. Really, there was no need for her to have a _bedroom_ \- any interior space would work, and there were a couple _other_ places around town that she could stay.

She didn't _mind_ it, of course. Yukiko was a nice person, and the staff at the inn always worked hard to make her feel welcome; even though she was a machine, they never treated her worse for it, doing their best to accommodate her unique needs. To them, she was the heiress' friend first and foremost.

For her first few visits, Labrys had penned Mitsuru's decision on the fact that she was the head of the Kirijo Group, with all the vast wealth that entailed. Mitsuru always had liked everything fancy, and the Amagi Inn was the closest to fancy that one could get in Inaba - but the VIP rooms seemed a bit much for a robot who couldn't even take advantage of most of their amenities. After a while, it just stopped making sense, and Labrys wanted an answer as to why Mitsuru wasted so much money on her.

One evening, Labrys sat in her room and contemplated this subject. It was easy for her mind to drift when she wasn't hanging out with her friends; she had spent a large part of that day shopping with Yukiko and Chie, trying on all sorts of different clothes that didn't quite _fit_ on her metallic frame. It just made her feel even _more_ out-of-place, and while Yukiko had insisted that she looked _fantastic_ in that frilly dress, her thoughts had turned to the room that she didn't belong in.

When it came down to it, Labrys had been built as a weapon. Strictly speaking, friendship wasn't necessary for her; she could work well enough on her own, and coordinating with a team didn't require her to be _close_ to anyone in it. Her desire for bonds was a consequence of the "heart" that she had been given, and while she hadn't _rejected_ the concept...

"Excuse me." A sound and a familiar voice at the door caught Labrys' attention, and she stood from where she had seated herself on the floor. It was sometimes a bit difficult to do that due to her unique design, but she had no trouble this time - for this particular friend, she'd do just about _anything,_ no matter how tough.

"What's up, Yukiko?" Labrys greeted the young lady on the other side of the door as she opened it, a placid smile on her face. "Doin' the rounds again?"

"Actually, I wanted to see you." Yukiko clasped her hands behind her, and returned Labrys' smile with one of her own. "May I come in?"

"Y'sure you can do that?" Labrys tilted her head. "Ain't ya still on duty?"

Yukiko gave a single nod. "Yes, but I've decided to take a break." Running the inn was a difficult job - the heiress was often busy well into the night, and tonight promised to be no exception. Seeing as she was only human, it made sense that she would want to take a break every now and then.

"Alright then, come on in." Labrys stepped back, gesturing with a hand. "Y'wanna chat?"

Yukiko stepped in and closed the door behind her, then walked over to the far side of the room. "...Something seemed to be bothering you earlier. I was worried that I'd said something wrong..."

"Nah, you're fine." Labrys stepped up beside her, watching her curiously. "I just got to thinkin'... none'a those outfits really _fit_ me, yeah? I mean, they were made for _humans,_ and I ain't exactly..."

"Ah, are you worried about tearing holes in them?" Yukiko's inquiry was understandable, but also a bit off the mark. "I tried to pick ones with tougher fabric, but I felt that one really suited you..."

Labrys shook her head. "Nah, it ain't that, either. I just... kinda feel weird tryin' to blend in, y'know? Stayin' in a fancy room when I can't even use half the stuff..."

"...You know, I once felt trapped, myself." Yukiko's statement seemed to come out of nowhere - was something on her mind as well? "I was born to be the heir to the Amagi Inn... and I followed that role, thinking I didn't have any other choice. Deep inside, I just wanted to be _free..._ to make my own decisions as to how I would live."

That had been the inner darkness Yukiko had once faced. Labrys knew about that already, so why was she bringing it up now?

"I wanted nothing more than to be whisked away..." Yukiko continued her story, oblivious to Labrys' confusion. "I wanted someone to come and free me from my responsibilities... to open my cage, so that I could fly away." She paused, and turned to face Labrys. "But in the end, I broke out on my own. Wasn't it the same for you?"

The repressed memories of what had happened at the Ergo Research lab came flooding back into Labrys' mind. She had fought and killed her own sisters as part of a twisted attempt to form her personality - to awaken her Persona, and yet the scientists' efforts ended in failure. She had escaped the lab, only to be caught and sealed away, and then Sho had...

...No, it really _wasn't_ the same. Labrys had been freed by _another,_ even if he had cruel intentions in doing so. If it hadn't been for him, she would have remained locked up in that box, little more than a dangerous byproduct of the Kirijo Group's darkness.

"Not really..." Labrys expressed her thoughts, hanging her head. "I didn't break out on my own... I _couldn't._ I screwed up escapin' the lab, an' then I got sealed away... I wouldn't even _be_ here if someone else hadn't broken me out."

"Well, I suppose there are _some_ differences, after all..." Yukiko hummed, then placed a hand on Labrys' arm. "But when it comes down to it... we're _both_ free now, aren't we? We can make our own decisions, and pursue our own ways of living... we don't have to be tied down anymore."

"You chose to inherit the inn anyway," Labrys pointed out. "Ya didn't have to, but you did... as for me, I _can't_ go out on my own. I'd just break down if I did."

That was right - there was no other place for her. As a creation of the Kirijo Group, Labrys would be bound to them for the rest of her existence, and she was only grateful that the current head was a reasonable person.

"Actually..." A pleased expression crossed Yukiko's face. "We've been making some... _alterations,_ as of late. Our staff are being trained appropriately, and the equipment necessary for your maintenance is in the process of being set up..."

...At the traditional, historic Amagi Inn!?

"What?" Labrys' confusion cut through her previous thoughts, and she stared blankly at Yukiko. "Why're you doin' all _that?_ "

"For _you,_ of course," Yukiko said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I made the request some time ago. I thought it was unfair that you weren't able to stay for longer, so I've made accommodations for your unique needs." Her saccharine smile broadened. "Do you have any objections?"

Labrys couldn't even think of how to _respond_ to that, let alone object to it. If nothing else, it explained why Mitsuru kept sending her _here_ \- in the future, this would be a more _permanent_ residence for her when she visited Inaba.

Yukiko could be... _strange,_ at times. Had she finally lost it?

"...Uh. _No._ " Labrys finally settled on that response, though she was still at a loss for words. Something _warm_ had bubbled up within her artificial soul - something she couldn't explain with logic or reason, and so she decided that it was something a bit more irrational. Like the joy of friendship, but _stronger..._ was this _love?_

"Labrys?" Yukiko tilted her head, her expression becoming curious. "You're blushing."

Was she? Labrys had no way of telling when that automatic response kicked in; she hadn't been given the right sensors for it, and she didn't even know _why_ it was a function she had in the first place. Soul or no, it didn't make sense for a machine to have the ability to blush- wait, that wasn't the problem here!

"I am?" Labrys raised a hand to her face, pressing her metal fingers to a silicone cheek. She felt nothing - _of course_ she didn't, that wasn't how this function worked, and the touch receptors in her fingers weren't designed to feel things like that, anyway. It had been a necessary compromise, in the interest of maintaining her chain knuckle function-

"Yes, you are." Yukiko gave a single nod, and then the look on her face returned to one of absolute glee. "It's _adorable._ "

Labrys was sure that her face had turned even redder in response to that. The warmth in her soul certainly blossomed; compliments from Yukiko _always_ had that effect, though not quite to _this_ extent until just now. It _had_ to be love - something she hadn't been designed to feel, but that didn't matter much when she had developed such a humanlike soul on her own.

"...Thanks," Labrys managed to say, though her vocal processor wasn't working at full capacity right now. "I mean... for everythin'. For, uh... accommodatin' me, and- and just... bein' a great friend. I wanna hug ya, but..."

"Don't worry about it," Yukiko insisted, opening her arms to Labrys. "Here. I'll let you hug me."

With an invitation like that, Labrys couldn't justify refusing. She wrapped her cold metal arms around Yukiko's warm, soft body; her eyelids shuttered as the embrace was returned, an unexpectedly pleasant sensation against her artificial form.

Yeah, this was love - no doubt about it. Labrys only hoped that she was able to convey her feelings to Yukiko with this gesture.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> It is definitely incredibly unrealistic for Mitsuru to provide training and equipment to the Amagi Inn staff for the purpose of maintaining Labrys. I do not care. I will go down with this ship.


End file.
